Retire, die?! Morley Safer dead

[eytonxav]

I don't know how you can make that assumption. Correlation is not causation. What we know so far is that (a) he was 84, (b) he had been in declining health for some time and (c) his wife said he died of pneumonia. My understanding is that retirement is not a recognized cause of pneumonia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/business/media/morley-safer-dies.html?_r=0

I didn't know it was pneumonia. Correlation is not not causation, but its not entirely out of the realm of possibilities in some cases. I have known a few co-workers who were in good health and then died within a year or so of retiring, but much younger than Morley. We've all probably heard stories folks losing a spouse and then the other dies a short time later. Losing someone or something you love, even if its ones job, can certainly have an impact on your health and longevity.

 

[Meadbh]

I didn't know it was pneumonia. Correlation is not not causation, but its not entirely out of the realm of possibilities in some cases. I have known a few co-workers who were in good health and then died within a year or so of retiring, but much younger than Morley. We've all probably heard stories folks losing a spouse and then the other dies a short time later. Losing someone or something you love, even if its ones job, can certainly have an impact on your health and longevity.

Have you considered the hypothesis that he knew he was dying and retired so that his wife would be eligible for survivor benefits? That seems like an equally plausible situation.

 

[eytonxav]

Have you considered the hypothesis that he knew he was dying and retired so that his wife would be eligible for survivor benefits? That seems like an equally plausible situation.

I don't understand this comment, are you suggesting she would get no survivor benefits if he had not retired??

 

[Meadbh]

I don't understand this comment, are you suggesting she would get no survivor benefits if he had not retired??

Depends on the pension conditions, I expect.

 

[Car-Guy]

This thread reminds me of the death of a local TV personality many years ago. I know there are a lot of folks on this site that live (or who have lived) in the greater Houston area for a long time. Any of you long time Houstonians remember Sid Laser? He was the weatherman for KHOU (local CBS station) who died at the TV station just minutes before he was to go on the air. I think he died in the early 70's.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I knew a number of people during my newspaper career who worked well into their 70s. Most were art or music critics. They'd see shows on the company dime and deliver their opinions for a pretty decent salary. What's not to love about that?

One of the most memorable (to me) was Jim Auer, who was still on staff at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when he died at age 76. Interestingly, the author of his obituary, reporter Jackie Loohauis, died about a month after she retired a couple years ago. She too had trouble letting go of a career that enabled her to exchange banter with Mick Jagger and others.

Writer, photographer, cinematographer, historian, magician - Journal Sentinel art critic James Auer was the definition of a Renaissance man.